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    How To Test A Capacitor

    Uploaded by

    Ryan P. Yap
    This document describes four methods to test if a capacitor is functioning properly using a multimeter: 1. Check resistance with an ohmmeter - a normal capacitor will read in the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of ohms, while a short or open circuit would read near 0 ohms or several megohms. 2. Check capacitance value - it should be near the rating printed on the capacitor. Lower values could indicate the capacitor is drying out or defective. 3. Charge the capacitor with a voltage and check if it retains the voltage - a good capacitor will hold the voltage applied for a brief period before discharging through the multimeter. 4. Check if the capacitor can store

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    How To Test A Capacitor

    Uploaded by

    Ryan P. Yap
    385 views2 pages
    This document describes four methods to test if a capacitor is functioning properly using a multimeter: 1. Check resistance with an ohmmeter - a normal capacitor will read in the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of ohms, while a short or open circuit would read near 0 ohms or several megohms. 2. Check capacitance value - it should be near the rating printed on the capacitor. Lower values could indicate the capacitor is drying out or defective. 3. Charge the capacitor with a voltage and check if it retains the voltage - a good capacitor will hold the voltage applied for a brief period before discharging through the multimeter. 4. Check if the capacitor can store

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    How to Test a Capacitor

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    This document describes four methods to test if a capacitor is functioning properly using a multimeter: 1. Check resistance with an ohmmeter - a normal capacitor will read in the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of ohms, while a short or open circuit would read near 0 ohms or several megohms. 2. Check capacitance value - it should be near the rating printed on the capacitor. Lower values could indicate the capacitor is drying out or defective. 3. Charge the capacitor with a voltage and check if it retains the voltage - a good capacitor will hold the voltage applied for a brief period before discharging through the multimeter. 4. Check if the capacitor can store

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    385 views2 pages

    How To Test A Capacitor

    Uploaded by

    Ryan P. Yap
    This document describes four methods to test if a capacitor is functioning properly using a multimeter: 1. Check resistance with an ohmmeter - a normal capacitor will read in the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of ohms, while a short or open circuit would read near 0 ohms or several megohms. 2. Check capacitance value - it should be near the rating printed on the capacitor. Lower values could indicate the capacitor is drying out or defective. 3. Charge the capacitor with a voltage and check if it retains the voltage - a good capacitor will hold the voltage applied for a brief period before discharging through the multimeter. 4. Check if the capacitor can store

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    How To Test a Capacitor

    In this article, we will go over different tests that we can use to tell whether a capacitor is good or not, all
    by utilizing the functions of a digital multimeter.
    There are many checks we can do to see if a capacitor is functioning the way it should. We will use and
    exploit the characteristics and behaviors that a capacitor should show if it is good and, in thus doing so,
    determine whether its is good or defective.
    So let's start:

    Test a Capacitor with an Ohmmeter of a Multimeter


    A very good test you can do is to check a capacitor with your multimeter set on the ohmmeter setting.
    By taking the capacitor's resistance, we can determine whether the capacitor is good or bad.
    To do this test, We take the ohmmeter and place the probes across the leads of the capacitor. The
    orientation doesn't matter, because resistance isn't polarized.

    If we read a very low resistance (near 0) across the capacitor, we know the capacitor is defective. It is
    reading as if there is a short across it.
    If we read a very high resistance across the capacitor (several M), this is a sign that the capacitor likely
    is defective as well. It is reading as if there is an open across the capacitor.
    A normal capacitor would have a resistance reading up somewhere in between these 2 extremes, say,
    anywhere in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousand of ohms. But not 0 or several M.
    This is a simple but effective method for finding out if a capacitor is defective or not.

    Test a Capacitor with a Multimeter in the Capacitance Setting


    Another check you can do is check the capacitance of the capacitor with a multimeter, if you have a
    capacitance meter on your multimeter. All you have to do is read the capacitance that is on the exterior of

    the capacitor and take the multimeter probes and place them on the leads of the capacitor. Polarity
    doesn't matter.
    This is the same as the how the setup is for the first illustration, only now the multimeter is set to the
    capacitance setting.
    You should read a value near the capacitance rating of the capacitor. Due to tolerance and the fact that
    (specifically, electrolytic capacitors) may dry up, you may read a little less in value than the capacitance of
    the rating. This is fine. If it is a little lower, it is still a good capacitor. However, if you read a significantly
    lower capacitance or none at all, this is a sure sign that the capacitor is defective and needs to be
    replaced.
    Checking the capacitance of a capacitor is a great test for determining whether a capacitor is good or not.

    Test a Capacitor with a Voltmeter


    Another test you can do to check if a capacitor is good or not is a voltage test.
    Afterall, capacitors are storage devices. They store a potential difference of charges across their plate,
    which are voltages. The anode has a positive voltage and the cathode has a negative voltage.
    A test that you can do is to see if a capacitor is working as normal is to charge it up with a voltage and
    then read the voltage across the terminals. If it reads the voltage that you charged it to, then the capacitor
    is doing its job and can retain voltage across its terminals. If it is not charging up and reading voltage, this
    is a sign the capacitor is defective.

    To charge the capacitor with voltage, apply DC voltage to the capacitor leads. Now polarity is very
    important for polarized capacitors (electrolytic capacitors). If you are dealing with a polarized capacitor,
    then you must observe polarity and the correct lead assignments. Positive voltage goes to the anode (the
    longer lead) of the capacitor and negative or ground goes to the cathode (the shorter lead) of the
    capacitor. Apply a voltage which is less than the voltage rating of the capacitor for a few seconds. For
    example, feed a 25V capacitor 9 volts and let the 9 volts charge it up for a few seconds. As long as you're
    not using a huge, huge capacitor, then it will charge in a very short period of time, just a few seconds.
    After the charge is finished, disconnect the capacitor from the voltage source and read its voltage with the
    multimeter. The voltage at first should read near the 9 volts (or whatever voltage) you fed it. Note that the
    voltage will discharge rapidly and head down to 0V because the capacitor is discharging its voltage
    through the multimeter. However, you should read the charged voltage value at first before it rapidly
    declines. This is the behavior of a healthy and a good capacitor. If it will not retain voltage, it is defective
    and should be replaced.
    So there you have it, 4 strong tests that you can do (all or either/or) to test whether a capacitor is good or
    not.

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